As Platt mentioned, the entire Bible is consistent. Despite the fact that it was written over the course of so many years by so many different authors, inconsistencies within God’s Word simply do not exist. How is that possible? Well, every word of Scripture is God-breathed, as 2 Timothy 3:16 states. Because of this consistency, Scripture itself can answer questions that may come up as you’re reading your Bible. 

One of my favorite ways to study God’s Word is through Bible Study Fellowship. My BSF lessons often remind me that I can turn to Scripture to answer questions about Scripture, and each time this happens, my wonder for the Bible is renewed and reinvigorated. Can I give you a couple examples from my most recent lessons? This year, we are doing an “Exile and Return” study that goes through Ezekiel, Daniel, Ezra, Esther, Haggai, Zechariah, Nehemiah and Malachi. We are studying the Israelites’ time spent living in exile and their eventual return to their homeland. 

As you may know, the second half of Daniel includes chapters about several mysterious dreams and visions Daniel had. When I say mysterious, I mean the very first one involves a lion with the wings of an eagle that ends up losing its wings, standing up like a man and receiving a human heart. And that’s just the beginning…

Now some mysteries in the Bible cannot be fully explained. There are portions of God’s Word that we will not fully understand until we are dwelling with God in His fully restored heaven and earth. With that in mind, God still invites us to spend time poring over His Word and asking the Holy Spirit for wisdom and discernment. I study the Bible remembering that I will not understand every single thing with perfect clarity, and that is okay. 

But, back to that lion-with-wings-who-loses-his-wings-and-stands-with-a-human-heart… My BSF lesson pointed me toward several different passages to help provide context and build knowledge about what this beast might symbolize. Here’s where it pointed me:

The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away, from the ends of the earth, like an eagle swooping down, a nation whose language you will not understand, a fierce-looking nation without respect for the old or pity for the young. -Deuteronomy 28:49-50

Before sunset on the seventh day the men of the town said to him, “What is sweeter than honey? What is stronger than a lion?” Samson said to them, “If you had not plowed with my heifer, you would not have solved my riddle.” -Judges 14:18

They are like a lion hungry for prey, like a fierce lion crouching in cover. -Psalm 17:12

Their roar is like that of the lion, they roar like young lions; they growl as they seize their prey and carry it off with no one to rescue. In that day they will roar over it like the roaring of the sea. And if one looks at the land, there is only darkness and distress; even the sun will be darkened by clouds. -Isaiah 5:29-30

Now I must point out, with some of these verses, I needed to glance at the entire chapter to have the proper context in mind before they could actually help me! But once I did, here are some details I picked out that helped deepen my understanding of the creature in Daniel’s dream:

• God said He would bring a “fierce-looking” nation against His people if they chose to disobey Him, like an eagle swooping down.
• Lions are hungry for prey.
• Lions are strong! “What is stronger than a lion?”
• Lions seize their prey, and they roar like the roaring of the sea.

So. Having gathered this additional information, what can I make of that creature in the dream? Perhaps the dream was telling Daniel that a powerful agent of God’s judgment was coming (or had come?) in response to the Israelites’ disobedience and rebellion. Although I still may not know exactly what this unique creature was meant to signify, I can use my Biblical resources and experience the Holy Spirit leading me to at least some understanding. 

Here’s another example of using Scripture to clarify and enhance Scripture. In another Daniel lesson, we studied the Babylonian leaders whose jealousy drove them to conspire against Daniel and his friends, who were all Israelites living in exile. They worked together with a couple different kings to attempt to punish the young Israelite men for their refusal to worship the kings. Daniel and his buddies were choosing to remain faithful to God alone, which went directly against the Babylonian culture. As you may recall, Daniel ended up in a den of lions, and his friends ended up in a fiery furnace. (As you may also recall, God protected and preserved them all!)

When you read stories like these, it is easy to get discouraged and even confused about why people would stoop so low as to treat other people in this way. Yet again, questions that arise from Scripture passages can often be answered by other Scripture passages. In this instance, my Bible study lesson directed me to Romans 3:10-18. It says: 

As it is written:

There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes. -Romans 3:10-18

There it is. The Bible is reminding us of humanity’s fallen condition. On our own, apart from Jesus, we are in a sorry state. As the passage states, ruin and misery mark our ways, and the way of peace we do not know. So of course the leaders’ jealousy drove them to the depths of desperation as they worked against Daniel and his fellow exiles! 

When you have questions about the Bible, so often, the answers can be found right there—in your Bible. Use your concordance, your Bible’s cross references, the Blue Letter Bible app/website, or a Google search bar to point you in the right direction. No other book is like this one!!